NATE BOETTCHER’S

BY NATE BOETTCHER PPCS PRESIDENT AND CEO

A conversation with my mom

A few weeks ago, my mom came to visit our family from rural northwest North Dakota. Let’s not kid ourselves, she came to see her grandchildren. My mom lives a stone’s throw away from the Canadian border. You can see the “city” lights of Canada from her front door. In this part of the world, drilling for oil, mining coal, exporting natural gas, and harvesting wind have been a big part of their economy for the last 75 or more years. Energy development has always been at the forefront of their economy.

While my mom was visiting, the subject of electric vehicles (EVs) came up. Truth be told, I wanted to get her reaction even though I knew how she would respond. I asked her if she would consider purchasing an EV for her next vehicle. She said, “Where in North Dakota am I going to charge an EV.” I paused for a minute and said, “At home.” It took a few seconds to sink in. In one fell swoop, I had accomplished my goal. She was going to run out and buy an EV. Maybe not, she put the brakes on for a minute. She asked many of the questions that I hear quite often when talking about EVs. For instance, well what’s the point if the electricity comes from fossil fuels? Don’t EVs only have a range of 400 miles or less? This just feels like something the government is trying to push on us. What are we going to do with all those batteries when they no longer work? Aren’t they expensive?

These are all good questions. I know what Henry Ford must have thought about when he was talking to people who owned horses some 100 plus years ago. Back then people just wanted faster and stronger horses. I’ll fast-forward the conversation with a synopsis. Reducing Co2 emissions from vehicles is a good thing even if we end up needing to figure out how to produce more electricity. Most people don’t drive 400 miles more than one to three times per year. Public charging will become more readily available. The major auto manufacturers are moving in this direction quickly and they don’t do anything quickly. Lastly, innovation is the mother of necessity. Opportunities and new businesses are being formed to recycle batteries. Batteries will get better and last longer, just as engines have improved over the past 100 years. Politics aside, EVs are fun to drive and ouer some of the best advancements in technology in cars since 8-track players were replaced by cassettes.

EVs are here to stay, and they will overtake the gas-powered new vehicle sales in the next 10 – 15 years. I’ve met a lot of people who are skeptical about EVs, but I’d rather zoom across the highway in an electric vehicle than sitting in a horse and carriage. Change can always find resistance until people realize that its normal. In 20 years, EVs will be the norm and people like my mom will enjoy the benefits of charging at home and having a full tank of “fuel” every morning when they leave for work.